Beef Marrow Soup Bones

[Discussing Labradoodles & Goldendoodles]

The breeder recommended these bones.  I am not certain how to use them and wanted to check with other folks.  I have four that have been boiling for a couple hours to get off the marrow and the grizzle.  Skye is teething on everything and everyone.  His toys are not enough.  He likes old towels and unfortunately shoes.  I thought if I made him some soup bones it might help. Are these safe?  Any suggestions?  My Jack Russell's ate bully sticks but I was told Skye should stay away from these.

[F, Calla & Luca]

That is an awfully long time to boil them . I boiled mine about 10 minutes when I made them. Then I removed the marrow. I left the grizzle and started the dogs off on the bones outside. They cleaned off the bones in no time. The main worry with the marrow bines is cracking a tooth. I do worry about that.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I am thinking I boiled mine for 20 minutes and scooped out the marrow. They are messy, so I had mine chew them outside, too. Cracking a tooth is my concern, too, but my dogs are strong chewers and need something to chew on, so I take the risk.

[Judy, Meg & Polly Wolly Doodle]

My vet suggested giving them raw, something about cooking them splinters them easier.  She also suggested not allowing them to have them more than an hour a day...having said that, Meg loves them and chews on them several times a day.

[Christine & Camus]

Camus does not do well with marrow bones, but I still give him one occasionally.  I microwave the bone for ~ 4 minutes, then scoop out the marrow.  I only remove excess fat from the bone leaving the grizzle.  To minimize the mess I put an old bath towel down and he knows to stay on the towel.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Everything you could ever want to know about beef marrow bones and then some, lol: Search results from the Food Group for Marrow Bones discussions: http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topic/search?g...

[Adrianne Matzkin]

My gang gets them raw. I do cut off any loose tendons and fat. When Samantha can't get the rest of the marrow out, she brings them to her DD and he spoons out the rest for her. I let them 'hide' them and chew on them as long as they want or until they find their way outside and into the mud. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The problem with giving them raw is that if you don;t clean all the marrow out, the marrow goes rancid if you leave them out for more than a couple of days, and then you have to throw them away. If you boil or microwave them first, they last forever. You can even stuff them with other fillings and then wash them in the dishwasher. If you cook them just long enough to soften the marrow, you can push the marrow out with a knife into the dog's bowl, rinse the grease, etc. off the bone, and you're good to go.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I am very far from a germophobe but I draw the line at raw meat, i. e. marrow bones, being dragged around my house. Visions of a bad strain of E Coli would dance in my head. And Karen's point about rancid marrow is a good one too.

[Theresa & Duncan]

We have always fed Duncan raw marrow bones. I too have read that cooking the bones make them splinter easily. We keep them in the freezer and give them to the Dood frozen, as- is. He never has one long enough to get all of the marrow out.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

When you read that cooking bones make them splinter easily, that refers to edible bones, not recreational bones. Edible bones are the kind that raw fed dogs can consume. Beef femurs (marrow bones) are recreational bones, meant to be used as chew toys.  They cannot be eaten, and cooking doesn't make them splinter. They're too hard and dense. They can be split with enough force, but they don't splinter.  

I've given my dogs marrow bones that boiled in a soup pot for hours. They were like petrified wood, and lasted for years afterwards.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

We do get Daisy's bones from the butcher, we keep them in the freezer and she gets one when ever "WE" need a break from Daisy, you know the days when after the park, the back yard and her usual 3 hours of playtime and running doesn't seem to be enough. We get her special blanket out (a fleece we can throw in the washer) and let her have it straight from the freezer. Typically these are NOT marrow bones but on occasion one will be included. We get these "free" so tossing them after she loses interest, usually an hour or so does not bother me. Rarely does she get any marrow out but her tongue normally is pretty exercised. LOL

NO cooking done here. I always thought it would make them to hard and might splinter. She is able to eat the actual bone but those are not the marrow ones.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That's the key; if it's a type of bone that she's able to actually eat, it will splinter if you cook it. The beef femur marrow bones are not edible, at least not for dogs.